


Petty Officer Seokjin and General Iroh Talk Over Tea

by whoami (davidbowie)



Series: Bangtan Meets the Gaang [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 19:36:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13301781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/davidbowie/pseuds/whoami
Summary: Seokjin might not be a firebender, but that doesn't mean he can't serve his nation, even if this ship is the most ridiculous detail he could've been assigned.





	Petty Officer Seokjin and General Iroh Talk Over Tea

**Author's Note:**

> i?? do not know how the military works???? apologies for things that don't make sense on that front

Seokjin was a Petty Officer, First Class, aboard the honorable Fire Navy ship, the Bai Mao. Officially, his duties entailed ensuring that all the different units aboard the vessel (the engine technicians, the maintenance crew, the sanitation crew, even the cook) were doing their jobs properly, and liaising between their singular officer aboard, Lieutenant Jee, and the rest of the enlisted crew to ensure that all relevant information was passed to each party and smoothing any complications between the two factions.

Unofficially, it had somehow become his job to pacify the ego of a one-eyed 13-year-old banished prince with no formal rank, fend off an entirely-too-wily retired general's inquiries into his personal life, oversee the drills of the eight man firebending squad the General had brought onto the ship (Seokjin wasn't a bender, which had given the General exactly no pause), and make sure that the captain (who had received his rank in the Fire Nation Army) knew what the hell he was doing in command of a Navy vessel. Oh, and he had to brush up on his erhu because it was music night in three days and Agni knew he hadn't so much as tapped a luo since his academy days.

Why the General had instated a mandatory weekly music night three months into their voyage was beyond Seokjin. As he and the rest of the crew scattered at the next port to find instruments that they could play (for a given value of the word), he reflected on the fact that, technically, the General was retired and had no authority over any of them. Then Seokjin snorted and finished haggling with the merchant, wrapping up his gently-used erhu and making his way towards the more culinary sections of the market.

Talented though their cook Gantao may be, fresh food could only last so long on a ship and no one could make the sixteenth day of salted fish appetizing. Among his myriad other unofficial duties, it had fallen on Seokjin to buy Gantao's supplies when they stopped at a port town. Supposedly it was because Gantao was awful at haggling and wanted to stretch his budget as far as he could, "for the benefit of the crew, you understand." Seokjin rather suspected that Gantao, having found someone willing to cover him in Seokjin, had seized the opportunity to indulge his gambling addiction during their rare shore days. Then again, with a poker face so poor, he was probably actually awful at haggling, so perhaps it was for the best.

Parcels of fresh vegetables, meat, spices, and the unavoidable salted fish in hand, Seokjin began his way back towards the docked Bai Mao. A stall selling tea blends caught his eye just at the border between the food and clothing sections of the market, however, and he paused. The General often invited Seokjin to have tea with him, for what Seokjin was sure were some far-reaching ulterior motives. As far as Seokjin could tell, the General was taking advantage of Seokjin's position - officially, Petty Officer, First Class; unofficially, the man with the best gossip on board. But Seokjin had the niggling feeling that he had figured out exactly as much as the General wanted him to figure out about his motivations, and as their conversations turned further away from the crew and closer to Seokjin's own personal life, he decided that it was probably for the best to let the General do as he would and attempt to pick up the pieces in the aftermath.

Of course, letting the General do as he would didn't mean letting him run roughshod over Seokjin. The General was a clever and amusing conversational partner, and Seokjin enjoyed debating the finer points of the dishes and tea blends they had encountered on their travels with him. To that end, he picked up three blends from the stall, for a truly outrageous price. He had considered haggling, but hadn't liked his chances at convincing the woman that she should charge him less while holding enough food to literally feed the crew of a small ship.

Unloading his purchases in the galley took only a few minutes, and Seokjin took a moment to relax on the mostly empty ship. It seemed like one of those rare occurrences where Seokjin could relax in his room without-

"Good afternoon, Petty Officer Seokjin."

Seokjin very carefully didn't sigh as he turned around. "Good afternoon, General Iroh. Did you find anything exciting in the market today?"

"Oh, a few things," the General said with a slight smile. Seokjin politely pretended not to notice the three crew members hauling packages up the gangplank. "I was hoping I could interest you in a new blend of tea I found today. I am forever searching for the perfect jasmine blend, and I think I may have found it."

"Of course, General," Seokjin said easily, thinking of the jasmine blend he had bought today. Would it be thoughtful or tacky to give it the General as a gift, when the General ran out of his own?

"Wonderful! It is such a comfort to have a fellow lover of tea with me for this long journey," the General said, leading the way to his private quarters. 

Seokjin had been in the General's quarters at least twenty times since the beginning of their voyage, and each time the decor had changed ever-so-slightly. Some of the new items Seokjin recognized from the various markets they stopped at, but most were unfamiliar.

"What a lovely wall scroll, General," Seokjin commented, folding his legs under him and settling onto his pillow. "Is that Fire Script?"

The General beamed as he poured two cups of tea. "Yes, a rather fine piece made for me by an old friend from Hing Wa Island. Have you ever been to Hing Wa Island, Petty Officer Seokjin?"

The General was certainly in a direct mood today. Seokjin took a considering sip of tea before answering. "No, General. I had never left the Caldera before my enlistment and I did my training at Daolu."

"Ah yes, I had forgotten you are from our great Capital City." The General paused to delicately take a bite of salted peach.

"Yes," Seokjin agreed easily, "my family lives in the Oyster District." The General's eyebrows lifted fractionally before his face smoothed back into casual interest. Seokjin smiled into his tea cup.

"I think you had mentioned before that your mother and father work in trade...?"

He would be a very poor player, thought Seokjin, if he gave away his information so easily. "Yes, I find that the Oyster District is an excellent place to trade. There's so much color there; quite different from the mercantile district in the city."

The General seemed to fight back a smile before sighing and setting down his tea cup. "I am worried, Petty Officer Seokjin."

Seokjin allowed himself a small frown as he placed his teacup on the table. The General never said in five words what he could say in fifteen; this must be serious. "Is there a problem with the crew, General Iroh?"

"Not at all, Petty Officer Seokjin. I am worried for my nephew." The General closed his eyes. "It has been only three months since his banishment, yet already the flames of obsession rise within him. He has not allowed himself the time to heal that he needs." The General opened his eyes, looking directly at Seokjin. "Do you know the circumstances behind my nephew's banishment, Petty Officer Seokjin?"

"I know he lost an Agni Kai against the Fire Lord, who graciously sentenced the prince to banishment instead of death." With the only caveat for honorable return to the country being the capture of the Avatar, it was understood that the prince was never going to be welcomed back into the Fire Nation. Understood by everybody except the prince, that is.

"Prince Zuko spoke out during a war meeting of the Fire Lord's most trusted advisers. They proposed to send a platoon of new recruits against a seasoned Earth Kingdom force, as a distraction for a more experienced combat squad to flank the Earth forces and rout them."

Internally, Seokjin recoiled. An average Fire Army platoon was fifty men strong; fifty men dead, with no fighting chance? "That would be...an effective plan, General."

"My nephew thought that the outcome was not worth the cost, and said so to the general who had proposed it. For his disrespect at the Fire Lord's council, Prince Zuko faced the Fire Lord in Agni Kai."

"General," Seokjin interjected, "why are you telling me this?"

The General inclined his head. "You seem to me to be a man who likes to know the people he is responsible for."

"Prince Zuko is not under my command, General Iroh."

"No, he is not." The General smiled benignly at Seokjin. "This tea is quite excellent, is it not, Petty Officer Seokjin?"

Seokjin looked at the General impassively for a few seconds before accepting the change of subject. "Yes, I think so. A fuller flavor than you would generally expect from a jasmine."

The General beamed. "I'm glad we agree, Petty Officer Seokjin. It is not every day you find such a delicate blend that contains so many hidden flavors."

Seokjin felt a tic coming on. "Indeed, General. But I find the salted peach, although a traditional snack to accompany jasmine, is overwhelmed by the flavor of the blend." He paused to take a sip of his tea, considering the different flavor tones in the blend before continuing. "I might go so far as to say that a blend this strong doesn't need to be served with a side dish at all, and save the salted peaches for other, more complimentary blends."

The General's smile didn't waver. "Although the two do not taste as I have come to expect from salted peach and jasmine, I find the flavor quite exciting." He took a long sip from his cup. "Do you play Pai Sho, Petty Officer Seokjin?"

Seokjin raised his eyebrow. Every time the General dropped a non sequitur, Seokjin felt that he had lost a match of a game which he hadn't agreed to play and whose rules he didn't know. "No, General. I never learned."

"A pity. Perhaps you would do me the honor of allowing me to teach you the game? I suspect you would be a formidable opponent."

"You honor me, General Iroh. I would be delighted to accept your generous offer." Seokjin stood, smartening his uniform. "Unfortunately, as diverting as our conversation has been, I must return to my duties."

"Yes, the men should be returning from shore leave about now, should they not?"

"Yes, General Iroh. Thank you for the tea and conversation," Seokjin said with a short bow.

"The pleasure was all mine, Petty Officer Seokjin," said the General, smiling knowingly. Seokjin bowed again before turning smartly on his heel and making his way back to the deck. He didn't actually need to start corralling the men back onto the ship until sundown, but he appreciated the General letting him make good his escape.

As he walked toward the gangplank, Seokjin couldn't help but notice the prince, who was on the deck mangling the footwork of the fifth form of the Dancing Sparks kata. Technically, he shouldn't be performing katas without supervision, but Seokjin was inclined to look the other way. The prince was well-known to be irritable and impatient, rude to those who served under him and generally unpleasant to be around. Seokjin did his level best to be where the prince was not at all times, in order the preserve the peace if nothing else.

Seokjin looked down the gangplank toward the bustling market, with its many diversions and distractions. On shore, he wasn't responsible for anybody at all. He could spend the few hours left of shore leave looking for a gift for his older brother, who had just gotten married and whose wedding Seokjin had missed. He could sit in a tea shop, watching people stroll by and making guesses about their personal lives. He could shop for scrolls to help while away the countless, boring hours at sea that were ahead of him. He looked at the market, and then, with a sigh, he turned back toward the prince. 

"Prince Zuko, if I may offer my advice?"


End file.
